Numbers 22:23 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The ass saw the angel of the Lord— The same great angel, or messenger of the covenant, as many commentators suppose, who appeared to the patriarchs; and by whom, as it is thought, God manifested himself to Balaam. This angel stood to oppose him in the way; and, whether it was that he was struck with a temporary blindness, or that his mind was intent upon something else, so as not to prevent his attending to what was before him, Balaam saw not the angel, though he was displaced in all his terror to the ass, who accordingly fled from him, and at length, unable to pass him, sunk down beneath her master, (Numbers 22:27.) who continuing to strike her, God wrought a miracle to confound him, and caused the animal to pronounce articulate sounds. (Numbers 22:28.) The Jews have not been able to persuade themselves that so extraordinary an event really happened: Philo suppresses it in his Life of Moses; and Maimonides pretends that it came to pass only in a vision: and yet how often have the rabbis themselves fancied more marvellous events without the least necessity! What right have they, who give mystical interpretations to the most simple events, to refuse acknowledging this miracle? The most severe philosophy cannot deny but that God is able to make beings, destitute of knowledge and reflection, pronounce sounds full of sense, reason, and truth: above all, the heathens have no right to reproach us with this history, who relate so many of the like nature, but not at all supported; as Achilles' horse, Phryxus' ram, Europa's bull, Porus's elephant, &c. See Bochart's Hieroz. p. 192. Indeed, as Bishop Newton well observes, the proper use of citing such authorities, is, not to prove that those instances and this of Balaam are upon an equal footing, and equally credible, but only to prove that the Gentiles believed such things to be true, and to lie within the power of their gods; consequently, that they could not object to the truth of Scripture history on this account. Diss. on Prophecies, vol. 1: p. 118. Mr. Wogan, in his Essays on the Proper Lessons, vol. 3: remarks, that if Satan inspired the mute serpent to speak to and beguile our first parents, why should it be thought a thing incredible, that the Divine Power should give human speech to the dumb ass, in order to shut the mouth of this other instrument of Satan who was going to curse his people? The opening of the mouth of the dumb ass could not but be a convincing proof, says Psalmanazar, both to Balaam and his company, how vain and fruitless it would be for him to attempt, or them to bribe him, to speak otherwise than God should think proper, who, if he was able to make a brute beast speak, contrary to his nature, was no less able to interdict the tongue of its rider from uttering any thing but what should be dictated to him. God might, indeed, without any further miracle, have put it wholly out of his power to have done otherwise; but if, instead of depriving him of his liberty upon this extraordinary occasion, he is rather pleased to deter him from abusing it, and his Moabitish retinue from tempting him to do so, by the miraculous speaking of a dumb ass, was not this a most striking way to convince both of his divine interposition in favour of the Israelites?